The standard electrical outlet in the interior of a building provides a safety hazard to children as the unguarded receptacle is open to probing with objects and fingers which may result in electrocution. Consequently various designs have been proposed for safety covers which allow an adult ready access to the receptacle but close the receptacle to children when the receptacle is not in use.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,820,842 issued Jan. 21, 1958 to Meistrell discloses a safety cover plate for electrical receptacles which has shutters which slide in a horizontal direction across the outlet faces. The shutters have slots for receiving the prongs of the electrical plug and are biased so that normally the slots are out of alignment with the prong-receiving slots of the receptacle. To use the receptacle, the prongs are inserted into the slots on the shutter and the shutter is slid laterally until the slots are in alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,442 issued Dec. 11, 1986 to Kubik discloses a safety cover for an electrical wall outlet which has spring-biased slide members which slide in a vertical direction to expose one or both of the electrical receptacles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,456 issued Feb. 11, 1975 to Dola discloses a cover plate for electrical outlets which has similarly two spring-biased vertically sliding shutters which are provided with prong-receiving slots which are normally out of alignment with the underlying receptacle but can be slid into alignment when the receptacle is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,778 issued Oct. 29, 1985 to Price discloses a safety electrical outlet cover assembly having a sliding door covering each of the receptacles. The door is slid into and out of position by means of a number of interacting buttons, springs and members.
None of the foregoing devices has shown commercial success for a number of reasons. The Kubik and Price designs require too many elements, adding to the cost of production. In the case of Price, six springs are required. The Meistrell and Dola designs tend to be more difficult to operate, and are less aesthetically pleasing.
The present invention provides an aesthetically pleasing safety cover for electrical outlets which is simple to manufacture and assemble and is difficult for a child to open.